Two positions, three candidates:
- Chris Shelton. The young player off to a hot start. Needs playing time to show that he's a legitmate major-league hitter, and not someone who had a Shane Spencer first month.
- Dmitri Young. The veteran. Old, overweight, prone to slumps, with an expensive contract certain to vest for 2006. But he's also the team's HR leader, and hot lately. Once played left field and third base, but never well, and now he's older and has heavier footsteps.
- Carlos Pena. The one-time future hope. Struggled for almost two years, then was banished. Never hit lefties very well. Back now, with three home runs in three games and counting. He needs to play so Tiger management can see if he's figured the game out in Toledo, against both left- and right-handed pitching. Oh, and he's hot right now, much hotter than Shelton, and he probably gives the Tigers their best chance of winning.